1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic terminal distributor for reading and memorizing product data in sales outlets in general.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In sales outlets in general, such as supermarkets, multiple stores and shops using the self-service system, the client takes his purchases directly from the various shelves on which they are displayed, he places them in a trolley or basket, and finally he presents them to a check-out where the operator checks the taken products one by one, passes them in front of an optical reader, for example of laser type, to read the bar code present on the product, and feeds the relative cost into the cash register.
A drawback of this sales system is the inevitable presence of long queues at the check-out, especially at particular times such as when approaching closure.
To eliminate this drawback it has been proposed to provide each supermarket customer, or a particular category of customer, with a laser reader terminal provided with a memory unit. In this manner, after taking the product from the shelf, the customer reads the bar code on the package with the terminal, so memorizing it. When the customer is ready to leave the supermarket, by which time the terminal has memorized all the purchases for that customer, the customer hands the terminal to the check-out operator, who by means of a suitable device reads the total cost from the terminal, so avoiding the need to read the individual products.
Such terminals are generally contained in a cabinet formed from various compartments arranged horizontally and vertically, each being provided with an access door and a locking device against unauthorized withdrawal; a system of this kind is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,942.
Such cabinets have however certain drawbacks, and in particular:
a large overall size which consumes excessive display and floor space,
a certain constructional complexity, by virtue of the large number of compartments, doors and anti-theft devices,
a considerable time loss for the user in finding the compartment containing the terminal assigned to him.
These drawbacks are eliminated according to the invention by an automatic terminal distributor for reading and memorizing data in sales outlets in general, as described in claim 1.